Expanding Financial and Support Systems for Scholars in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

该项目将通过支持圣玛丽山大学（MSMU）（一所位于加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的全女子西班牙裔服务机构（HSI））中表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，为全国对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。在为期六年的时间里，“扩大STEM学者的财务和支持系统”（S4X）项目将为25名攻读生物学、生物化学、化学和数学学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金。三组一年级、转学生和二年级学生将在MSMU获得每年10,000美元的奖学金，为期四年。该项目旨在通过同伴和教师指导、职业探索和准备以及帮助获得实习和/或研究机会等课外规划来招募、留住和支持奖学金获得者。这些努力得到了一项共同努力的支持，即培养和利用家庭参与，支持奖学金获得者攻读学士学位。S4X项目的主要研究人员将为MSMU低收入、成绩优异的学生建立途径，并为学者们在有利可图的领域从事与stem相关的职业做好准备。这一努力将直接有助于国家发展多样化、具有全球竞争力的STEM劳动力，并满足加州STEM劳动力市场的迫切需求。对家庭参与的关注将有助于理解如何利用家庭参与来支持STEM学者，特别是那些来自代表性不足的人口和不同文化背景的学者。这个项目也将增加知识基础，了解各种队伍建设和支持活动如何有助于STEM学生的保留和成功。该项目的总体目标是提高有经济需求的低收入、高成就本科生的STEM学位完成率。S4X将招募、招收、保留和研究生学者，最终目标是在毕业后6个月内将毕业生安置在STEM职业或研究生项目中。该项目还将开展团队建设和家庭参与活动，以支持S4X学者的需求。将解决影响留用的三个关键问题。首先，由于当地高中之间的学术差异，许多MSMU STEM专业的学生进入大学时，对严格的科学和数学入门课程准备不足，因此需要更全面的学术支持服务。其次，许多学生没有为他们进入高等教育体系做好准备的家庭背景，他们需要更多的过渡到大学的支持。第三，许多低收入家庭的学生必须一边上学一边工作，面临着担心经济状况的压力。S4X将通过奖学金和一系列以证据为基础的综合活动来解决这些问题，这些活动旨在提高学术效率、保留率、毕业率和职业安置。项目组假设，在学生的整个学术生涯中，有家庭参与将有利于学者的坚持和完成。将通过S4X实施一系列面向家庭的活动，并将评估这些活动对留用率的影响，以进一步加强该项目，并为其他类似项目的设计提供参考。其他措施将通过调查和分析进行评估，包括项目对1)参与者对STEM职业和科学相关职业的自我效能感的影响；2)学者STEM毕业率；3)对STEM职业选择的理解；4)有意接受高等教育或从事与stem相关的职业。项目成果将通过出版物和专注于STEM和HSI教育的场所广泛传播给MSMU内部利益相关者和社区成员，以及更广泛的学术界。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Mount Saint Mary's University (MSMU), an all-women's Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) located in Los Angeles, California. Over its six-year duration, the "Expanding Financial and Support Systems for Scholars in STEM" (S4X) project will fund scholarships to 25 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and mathematics. Three cohorts of first-year, transfer, and sophomore students will receive scholarships of $10,000 per year for up to four years at MSMU. The project is designed to recruit, retain, and support scholarship recipients through co-curricular programming such as peer and faculty mentoring, career exploration and preparation, and assistance securing internships and/or research opportunities. These efforts are supported by a concerted effort to nurture and leverage family engagement to support scholarship recipients in their pursuit of baccalaureate degrees. The S4X principal investigators will establish pathways for MSMU low-income, high-achieving students and prepare scholars for STEM-related careers in lucrative fields. This effort will directly contribute to the national development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce and meet the immediate needs of California's STEM labor market. The focus on family engagement will contribute to the understanding of how to leverage family involvement to support STEM scholars, especially those from underrepresented populations and diverse cultural backgrounds. This project will also add to the knowledge base of how various cohort-building and support activities contribute to STEM student retention and success.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. S4X will recruit, enroll, retain, and graduate scholars, with the ultimate aim of placing graduates in STEM careers or graduate programs within six months of graduation. This project will also develop cohort-building and family engagement activities to support the needs of S4X scholars. Three critical issues that influence retention will be addressed. First, due to academic disparities among local high schools many MSMU STEM majors enter college under-prepared for rigorous introductory science and math courses, and so require more comprehensive academic support services. Second, many students do not have a family background preparing them to navigate the higher education system and require more transition-to-university support. Third, many low-income students must work while attending school and face the stress of worrying about finances. S4X will address these issues through scholarships and a comprehensive evidence-based set of activities designed to increase academic efficacy, retention, graduation, and career placement. The project team hypothesizes that having families engaged throughout the student's academic life will be beneficial to scholars in persistence and completion. A series of family-oriented activities will be implemented through S4X and their effect on retention will be evaluated to further strengthen the project and to inform the design of others like it. Other measures will be evaluated through surveys and analysis, including the project's impact on 1) participant feelings of self-efficacy with regard to STEM careers and science-related careers; 2) scholars' STEM graduation rates; 3) understanding of career options in STEM; 4) intention to pursue higher education or a STEM-related career. Project results will be disseminated widely to MSMU internal stakeholders and community members, as well as the broader, scholarly community through publication and venues focusing on STEM and HSI education. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.